10 fev Support Local Businesses

For the past few months, I have been proudly sharing a bit of my reflections as a teacher, and this has been bringing me great joy. I never thought I would be able to write long texts, since my younger self has met a number of cruel teachers who consistently said I lacked creativity, and my writing was mediocre. Well, here I am.

Today, however, I bring a slightly different topic, just because I have met a number of brilliant teachers since last July, when I had the opportunity to present my talk about feedback in writing in Caxias do Sul for the 16th Braz Tesol International Conference. Since then, I have had the chance to be introduced to a whole new professional universe, and it reminded me of the African Proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”.

This brings me to the importance of both attending and participating in conferences for your own continuous professional development. Of course, it looks really good on your CV, but what I could notice was a general feeling of being able to offer the best learning experience to our students. Quoting Luiz Otavio Barros, in his mind blowing session still in Caxias do Sul, “it’s about them”.

Having said all of the above, the objective of my text today is to bring some amazing initiatives I have seen blooming since then. Mind you, I am not a veteran in this great world of conferences, but seeing these initiatives happening makes me fill my heart with joy. Besides that, I am not completely disregarding big conferences such as the Southern Cone, which I am super excited to attend, but local conferences also teach us a great deal.

Last January, I was invited to deliver a talk on a day conference called MCA We’re open. Organized by Mattiello Consultoria Acadêmica (and completely free of charge), they brought 4 workshops to the teachers of Campinas and cities nearby. It was a pleasure to see so many engaged professionals on a Saturday summer day, and their questions on how to adapt those ideas to their own practices certainly made the whole event a lot more profitable.

Yesterday, I had a lot of fun on the V Caltabiano day, with talks delivered by great names in the ELT world, such as Bruna Caltabiano, Daphne Walder, Higor Cavalcante, Ilá Coimbra, Jimena Lizalde, Natália Guerreiro and Rafael Carpanez. All of them and all of us were also united on a greater cause: Bruna Caltabiano and Marcelo Noronha (co-founders of Caltabiano Idiomas) asked for a can of powdered milk, to be donated to Associação Cruz Verde. After an exciting Colloquium week at the school where I work, I enjoyed every single minute of it, as well as got invaluable insights which will be applied to my groups.

These were only two great examples, but there are brilliant professionals and innovative schools and companies doing an amazing job in the market, as well. I am still very proud of working at the school where I work, for their contributions to the lives of countless professionals and students, but we live in a great community of teachers and every link in this big chain which connects us counts. It is with gratitude and a sense of purpose that I say to you, who is reading me at the moment: support local businesses, cherish every single initiative you know of, and know that we can only grow as a community if we grow together.

38-year-old teacher at Cultura Inglesa with experience in working with teenagers and adults. A CELTA and ICELT holder, with a passion for Continuous Professional Development. Fabi has presented in important Conferences such as BrazTesol and IATEFL. I am an avid reader of books and a true believer of education as a means to making the world a better place.